Dizzyatom

Helios Meat Lab Management System is a small, yet powerful, product-traceability system for university and small meat producers' facilities.

Helios Meat Lab Management System enables meat production facilities to track data for the entire process of acquisition of live animals through the uniquely identifiable retail or wholesale cut of meat. A facility unique identifier is assigned to a carcass or a received box of beef. During production that number is used to identify the source of a cut of meat. A barcode is generated for the cut and is used in the sale of the cut, the collective boxing of additional cuts of meat, or in the further processing of the cut into more refined products.

How It Works

Simple and easy-to-use, icon-based navigation makes adding animal and carcass data flow naturally into the production and capture of data for uniquely identifiable cuts of meat. The point-of-sale application makes selling to customers quick and easy. Numerous reports and graphical analysis tools help determine meat yields, inventory counts and profitability of your facility.

The (old) Brochure

Ability to manage Vendor information including federal premise ID tracking and specific cut sheet assignment.
E-commerce and regular customer information management including address / phone number storage and web site/self-checkout account authentication data.
Manage the virtually unlimited number of customizable labels that can be assigned to the six (6) major system categories: animals, carcasses, cuts, containers, non-unique items & foreign boxes.
System wide user management whereby users are assigned specific security levels giving the assigner the flexibility to limit system activities to assignees. All user authentication data is encrypted with additional tamper protection just in case.
Nineteen (19) built-in reports covering inventory, sales and forecasting data, register reconciliation, and price lists. All reports can be printed directly, saved to PDF, XLS, DOC, or RTF files, or exported either to Excel or a delimited text file.
Hierarchical location tracking management to allow granularity and nesting location assignments for cuts.
Non-unique item management with categorical and related item grouping. Non-unique items are managed through a purchase-order interface with historical cost evaluation abilities coupled with categorical item price markup.
Flexibility to add unlimited number of different payment methods used in POS operations. Credit card transactions are not stored or handled through Helios; instead orders are marked with the method of payment and amount in and out. Each payment method can be secured with a minimum user access level to assure some level of theft minimization through the POS.
Ability to customize the taxation of differing levels of product types (food, general, none).
All data within the system can be exported to Excel or delimited text file to eliminate complete reliance on the system.

Live animal data management including NAIS and installation unique numbering systems. A real-time calculation of meat yields across various weight metrics plus vast categorical assignments of an animal are also included.
A cut type breakdown of meat production for each animal can be displayed in tablature or graphical forms for internal or custom fabrication purposes.
Unlimited number of custom attributes can be assigned to an animal making each installation customized to the customer.
Cut Type (meat categorization) management through industry standard codes (URMIS/IMPS). All current industry codes are included in the installation with the ability to trim out what is not needed and add what is lacking or appropriate for the facility.
Each Cut Type can be assigned a unique label type to aid in the various labeling requirements that exist for certain products.
Historical price change logging.
Images of each categorization can be stored for other uses such as web-site integration.
Carcass data management includes tie back to live animal records, installation unique number system, production metrics and categorization in addition to the same unlimited number of custom attributes ensure a complete data capture of all facility carcasses.
Simple 4-step procedure for adding new retail cuts once fabricated. Errors are quickly eliminated with the ability to delete a new cut or reprint its label on the same form. All inventory status cuts can be edited at any time.
Cuts can be assigned to multiple carcasses or derived from an existing cut.
All carcass and cut data management is handled under the context of the lot system. Lot numbers are completely customizable.
The lot system ensures safety guidelines, such as preventing meat sold that is marked as "Test & Hold".
Receiving boxed product is a simple procedure that is handled natively instead of special instructions and training for the user, thereby eliminating potential errors.
Traceability lookup from the direction of an animal-to-carcass-to-cuts, carcass-to-animal, carcass-to-cuts, cuts-to-carcass-to-animal, and foreign boxes-to-shipments-to-invoices.
Zero price detection and remediation.
Boxing/grouping of retail cuts.
Hardware independent integration means that any number of non-proprietary scales can be utilized as long as they have a RS-232 interface. Any label printer can be used that can be directly printed through Windows.
Critical system functions are secured through user access level assignment.

User-friendly, non-cluttered handling of retail cuts and non-unique item sales orders.
Orders can be put on hold and retrieved later.
Void prevention based on user access level.
Unlimited number of POS application installations.
Price overrides and discount assignment on an order item basis. Detailed receipt showing applicable discounts.
Unlimited number of payment method splits to accommodate every possibility.
Preorder (Internet and build-to-suit) conversion to order with custom fabrication report.
Receipt reprint capability.
Assignment or removal of customer to order.
Ability to search current inventory including [min/avg/max] quantity on hand and prices for each retail cut in inventory.
Scanning of box without having to scan individual cuts.

Valid registration includes the following technical support:

Installation and Setup
Hardware Problems
Maintenance
Application Use
Networking and Integration

F.A.Q.s

What is my database version?
1. Open the Administration program and login as a Manager user.
2. Click on the System Settings image.
3. Look to the section "Database".
- or -
1. Open the Inventory Management program and login as any valid user.
2. Click on the About toolbar.
3. At the bottom of the "About" form, the database version will be listed.
How do I upgrade to the newest version?
1. Download the latest files (the choices are linked from the "Download" tab.
2. Unzip the files into the directory where the program is installed.
  This is typically in C:\Program Files\Dizzyatom\Helios[v]\. You can overwrite the existing files if you'd like.
3. Make sure the minor version value is the same as your database. Note: Version numbers are organized like this: {major.minor.revision.build}.
4. It is highly likely that your database version will be out of sync with the program (or codebase) version. This is a precautionary measure that requires assistance from your database administrator to complete. Your service agreement will dictate who is responsible, or give us a call for assistance. If you plan on performing a self-upgrade, then we recommend that you backup the existing files before overwriting anything.
The program cannot read from the scale, what can I do?
1. Ensure you have installed the correct cable. The male end (on the left) plugs into your scale. The female end (on the right) plugs into your computer.
2. Identify what COM ports your computer has installed by opening Device Manager from the Windows Control Panel.
3. Check the config file Helios.IMS.Scales.dll.config has the correct settings. The file should look like
  <add key="portName" value="COM[x]" /> <add key="baudRate" value="9600" /> <add key="dataBits" value="7" /> <add key="parity" value="2" /> <add key="stopBits" value="1" />
4. Look at the bottom left of the IMS program to see what scale your system is set to use and adjust accordingly. The type of scale can be changed in the Options form.
How do I enable/disable Passthough Authentication?
1. Open the program you want to enable this feature for.
2. Click on the Tools toolbar then the Options... menu.
3. Toggle the checkbox that says Passthrough Authentication.
4. Save, close the program and open the Administration program.
5. Click on the Users image, and select the user you want to map a Windows account to.
6. Save the user information, and if the current Windows user matches one of the "Helios" user accounts then, the program will use that mapping and not prompt for a login each time.
How can I customize the message on the POS pole display?
1. Click on the Tools toolbar then the Options... menu.
2. Find the section called Line Display Message. Change the text to whatever you'd like.
3. Click Save, close and reopen the program.
How should I handle custom fabrication orders?
1. We recommend that no new CutTypes be created/maintained for the purpose of custom cuts. Selecting a different LabelType while on the Weight & Add form can circumvent the issue of standard labels not being desirable on the packaged cuts.
2. Create a non-unique item(s) that corresponds to the surcharge of custom fabrication labor. A "scan/barcode" sheet can be kept at the Point of Sale for reference.
3. At the Point of Sale, ring up the cuts or boxes as you normally would.
4. Select the Payment Method that corresponds to custom fabrication and enter the exact amount of the current cut total.
5. Your register subtotal should be $0.
6. Scan the barcode that identifies the custom fabrication (non-unique item) to bring the subtotal back up to the amount the customer should owe you. The other option is to increase the Misc. Charge field, but that will not give you the ability to track how many custom fabrications you have "sold".
7. The subtotal should now reflect the amount owed by the customer.
8. At this point you can do 1 of 2 things:
  1. "Save As Pending" and wait to receive $$$ from the customer.
  2. Complete the sale using whatever Payment Method, except one you have already used, and take that receipt over to your accounting system if you are keeping track of receivables.
What are the ways I can discount products?
1. Most discounting happens at the POS application. If you have logged in as at least a Manager, when a barcode is scanned, the ability to override the current price or apply a discount (negative amount) to the price is presented before the addition of the product to the order. Giving discounts in the latter way ensures two things:
  1. The ability to see the total amount of discounts given will show up in reports.
  2. Customers will see the discount on their receipt.
2. Another way to discount is to simply change the price of the product. Please be aware that unless a new label is printed with the new price, the customer will see a discrepancy at the register.
3. To change the price of a cut, simply open the Inventory Management program, and select the menu item "Edit" under the Cuts menu.
4. Scan the product's barcode and change the value in the price field. The previous price will be remembered. When the product is scanned, the new price will be what rings up.
- or -
1. Entire groups of individual cuts or CutType categories can be repriced.
2. Open the Inventory Management program and click on the Cut Management button.
3. Under the reprice tab you will find the options to carry out the reprice method you choose.

Support & Downloads

Helios is designed to run with a great number of peripherals (scales, printers, scanners, etc.). Below are links to vendors of recommended hardware components that have been tested and shown to be very reliable.

Help files can be downloaded and upgraded independently of the program.

Config files control the behavior of the applications. To prevent your system configuration from being changed, these files are not included in updates.

Report Library (v2.2.2)

Currently Includes:
Inventory Reports
- Current
- By Animal
- By Carcass
- By Location
- By Current Location
- Cut Type By Location
- Expired
Sales Reports
- By Cut Type
- By Cut Type Monthly
- By Item
- By Item Monthly
- By Payment Type
- Orders By Month
- Sales Tax
Other Reports
- Lot Members
- Cut Type Fabrication
- Register Reconciliation
- Cut Type Bestsellers
- Cut Type Price List

Label Data Schema - Assists in the development of labels.
Barcode Font
Register Component Tester

Other installation packages maybe required to ensure proper operation of your system. They are listed below:

Microsoft SQL Server
- 2008 Database System
- SSMS Management Studio 2008
Microsoft .NET Redistributables
- v3.5 SP1
Crystal Reports for .NET Redistributables
- 2008 (x86)
- 2008 (x64)
Microsoft Report Viewer 2008 SP1
- Click Here
Microsoft POS.NET
- v1.11
Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
- 2007
Microsoft Visual Basic PowerPack
- v1.1
Epson Receipt Printer Drivers
- v3.01h
- v3.02
LCI Line Display Drivers

Helios Meat Lab Management System is a small, yet powerful, product-traceability system for university and small meat producers' facilities.

How It Works

F.A.Q.s

Support & Downloads

Contact

Links